Roland Butter

It was meant to be a generic "you", Frankie. But one should still try Santaland Diaries, anyway. I hated Confederacy of Dunces - I thought it was one of the most over-hyped pieces of twaddle I've ever read. Just as well I've never heard of Marieke Hardy, then, eh?

I'd say try The Complete Molesworth by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle. Life at St Custard's School (or should that be Skool?), and it still makes me smile.

I'll second those. The Pickwick Papers is one of the funniest books I've read, and good old Bleak House never lets you down, either, but I don't think you can go wrong with Dickens, personally. But like other people here, I'd say no-one should be ashamed of what they've read or haven't read. By and large, the self-appointed arbiters of taste, in whatever field, are usually fools or charlatans.

Started Mother Leakey and the Bishop by Peter Marshall. The blurb says: At Halloween 1636 sightings of the ghost of an old woman - "Mother Leakey" - began to be reported in the small English coastal town of Minehead, and a royal commission was sent to investigate. In December 1640, a disgraced Protestant bishop was hanged in Dublin, after being convicted of an "unspeakable" crime. Peter Marshall's sparkling work of historical investigation uncovers the intriguing links between these two seemingly unconnected events. It is a compelling tale of dark family secrets, sex, scandal, and the supernatural. Well, the introduction's interesting so far, anyway ....

I've finished Vienna by Eva Menasse, the story of an Austrian/English Jewish family over several generations. I wanted to like it, but in truth none of the characaters engaged me, and I was left wondering what the point was supposed to be. Never mind ....

Thanks, Marcia. It was great, as ever - closes on Saturday, after almost a year, which will be a shame. There's very little that's more uplifting than a good musical. In tribute, a change of avatar is called for ....

That's a very good book. A friend who works in a bookshop in Toronto brought me over a copy last year. I believe Lawrence Hill is from Toronto himself.

Off to see Sweet Charity up in London tonight, with some friends over from Toronto. Second time for me, third for my wife. It's good (obviously!).

Ooh, a rare groove classic there, Talisman! Tears at the End of a Love Affair - Tammi Terrell

I Get the Sweetest Feeling - Jackie Wilson

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin and Tammi

Soul Deep - The Box Tops

California Soul - Marlena Shaw

The Cheeseheads, eh? How did it go?

I'm now reading Vienna by Eva Menasse.

I thought it was too much of a coincidence to be true! Never heard of that one, so I looked it up and it turns out to be an adaptation of Eric Bogle's song. I was getting quite excited there for a minute! The Banner Man - Blue Mink

Finished Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn. OK, but I was expecting something a bit wittier. Never mind.

If you like that sort of thing (and yes, I realise I could have phrased that better), David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries is worth a read too.

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Eric Bogle

Just started Michael Frayn's Towards the End of the Morning. To quote the blurb, it's ...set in the crossword and nature notes department of an obscure national newspaper during the declining years of Fleet Street, where John Dyson dreams wistfully of fame and the gentlemanly life - until one day his great chance of glory at last arrives.

Finished Elsie and Mairi Go to War. It's a fascinating story - two well-to-do young women who become friends through their shared love of motorbikes (and imagine how rebellious that would have been in the years leading up to the First World War) and go off to "do their bit" (and quite a lot more than their bit) nursing wounded soldiers just yards behind the front line in Belgium. I won't spoil the story, because I know Pontalba has it lined up, but let's just say that Elsie and Mairi's story didn't end with the end of the War. A really worthwhile read, I thought.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Diane. It's certainly a story worth telling. I saw the real Rita O'Grady being interviewed on TV a couple of years back, and she was certainly ...er... how to put this? ...a character (And did you notice Toby from The West Wing as the Ford union-buster?)